Hereditary Shook Me

It's said that hindsight is 20/20, and in retrospect, much of the praise heaped on Ari Aster's Hereditary after its release seemed to result in an unintended and unfortunate backlash to the movie from audiences. This puts me in an uncomfortable position as a reviewer. I want to do this wonderfully written and elegantly crafted movie justice with my review, but I'm struggling to find the words to do so, words that won't turn you, the reader, off to it. Maybe a series of I love statements will suffice. I'd also like to point out that this is the type of movie where the less you know about it beforehand, the more you'll enjoy it, which is why this review will be as vague as possible. Lastly, I would like to warn you of two things before you take the hand of Hereditary: the first is that it briefly touches on some very troubling spiritual ground, and the second is that it will stick with you like some baleful cinematic spirit. Nevertheless, it's your choice whether you let it in, not mine.

I love the artistic eye of Hereditary. One of the major gimmicks of this movie is the work of Annie Graham, the mom of the story, as a miniatures artist, someone who makes what some might call glorified dollhouses. The ways in which this story uses her profession to its advantage are nothing short of an innovative and unexpected flair of genius. Miniature-crafting is such a fascinating hobby for a character to have, and its potential for narrative gold here never goes untapped or relegated to just another flavor of unusual. You'll be well off keeping a close eye on these statuettes and their seemingly harmless occupancy. The devil's in the details, and these details are remarkably devilish.

I love the unique premise of Hereditary. Usually, I'll have some idea of what a movie might do or where it might go with its story. Not so here. The originality of this film kept me in the dark on many levels, at least as much as the tropes of the horror genre allowed me to stay there, yet I'll admit that if you're looking for a safe, accessible, and familiar horror movie, Hereditary is the type that will likely disappoint. But allow it to reshape without necessarily rebuilding how you think about the genre, and you're liable to walk away thrilled and chilled in equal measure.

I love Charlie, the strange and even-sinister daughter of the Graham family. I love her, less in the awww, she's adorable sort of way, more in the what the heck is wrong with her sort. She's an incredibly unsettling child, somehow embodying every sense of almost-imagined, was-it-really-there danger present in this film. Something about her wasn't sitting right with me, but it was nigh-impossible for me to put my finger on what exactly that thing was other than an uncertain general uneasiness that is more or less the selling point of Hereditary.

I love the unrelenting sense of foreboding in Hereditary, a movie that only becomes stranger and more sinister with time. No two warning signs of impending doom are the same, either. Hereditary isn't just unnerving - it's also unnervingly creative. It's a slow-burn horror in every conceivable way, each strange and sinister supernatural phenomenon outdoing the one before. Its focus is not on jump-scares, and it is content to drag you slowly towards a mysterious gaping pit holding some sort of sinister, unseen discovery. I won't understate it: Hereditary will shake you; the more patient you are, the more shaken you will be.

I love the fantastic acting from all involved in Hereditary, with Toni Collette's portrayal of Annie being the standout. Her performance is a desperate and hopelessly grief-stricken one that grows more and more uncomfortably unhinged and undeniably understandable with time. It's as if the movie paints her as crazy before revealing her to be terrifyingly saner than we'd ever imagined, a terrifying proposition in that 20/20 hindsight.

I loved Hereditary because of its unrelenting sense of dread, unflinchingly intense and multifaceted performances, and commanding sense of storytelling basics, and I think this is why you'll love it, too. It feels a lot like listening to an astonishingly good campfire horror yarn, one that holds a horrifying ending over your head for an unbearably long time before dropping it on you in a way that will make some beg the movie to take it back. Hereditary is a movie just as good felt as it is thought about, and I think I'll be feeling and thinking about it longer than I'd expect to and, in many ways, longer than I'd like. It's also a movie with some troubling spiritual elements. Even many who would reject the claims of Christianity would admit that there are forces out there bigger than ourselves, and Hereditary doesn't shy away from these spiritual realities in any way.

Take that statement how you will before lighting this particular cinematic candle.

Hereditary - 10/10

Isaiah 8:19